I'm Sorry
by Daughter-of-Apollo213
Summary: Reyna isn't good at apologizing.Leo is usually good at hiding how he feels from his friends. He's usually able to brush away hurt with a corny joke, but now, he can't seem to come up with one in time. It all comes out—all the hurt, pain, and damage that she's caused. She didn't know; she never does. Now, it just might be too late. Onesided Leo/Reyna. Full summary inside.
1. Prologue

I'm Sorry

_A Sad Leyna Story_

**Summary**: Reyna isn't very good at apologizing. She isn't very good at paying attention to how other people feel either. It's hard to when you're so narrow-minded. Leo is usually really good at hiding how he feels, especially from his friends. He's also normally able to brush away hurt with a corny joke or two, but he can't seem to come up with one in time. Everything comes tumbling out—all the hurt, pain, and damage that _she's _caused. She didn't know; she never does. Now, it just might be too late.

**Main Pairing: **Kind of one-sided Leo/Reyna— 3 them!

**Side Pairing: **Jason/Piper (very briefly mentioned) — 3 them, too!

**Genre: **Romance/Hurt/Comfort

**Rating: **T

**Disclaimer: **The bestselling book series, _Percy Jackson and the Olympians,_ is owned by Rick Riordan. I only own the story line.

**This is just a short little one-shot that I threw together out of sheer boredom. I hope that you like it! But…I'm warning you; it has a bit of a sad ending. **

**MAKE SURE TO READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE BOTTOM! IT'S ÜBER IMPORTANT!**

* * *

She was beautiful. She was the essence of beauty itself. She was like a queen—grand and regal.

She hated him.

No, no, she didn't hate him, but he felt that the way that she treated him was close enough. Her voice—her beautiful voice—often called him lazy, wild, unpredictable, a child, a lunatic, a hazard, a liability, and many others.

And it hurt. Oh man, did her words hurt. Each one felt like a whip, slashing and cutting at him relentlessly. With each word, his will was being chipped away.

But he never flinched. No; he wanted to look strong. She liked people who were strong, right? Instead of lashing back, he always managed to come up with a ridiculous attempt at a joke, while somehow nursing his broken and re-broken heart. He always managed to smile through the pain that was slowing carving out his heart.

Maybe one day he'd tell her that even though she was tormenting him, he was being strong for her all along. He wanted to let her know how beautiful he thought she was—"More beautiful that Aphrodite herself," he once said, finally confiding in his best friends. But his best friend thought that he was crazy; no one was more beautiful than his girlfriend—the daughter of Aphrodite herself.

Maybe one day her words would no longer be whips. Instead, he hoped, they would be like gentle touches on his ears. He wanted to not be afraid of her. He wanted to hold her in his arms and not have to worry about her being upset.

He wanted her to love him, like he loved her. Those were his greatest wishes. There was nothing that he wanted more than for her to one day love him as much as he loved her.

* * *

She snapped at him again, this time calling him useless.

But this time was different from all the others.

"Leo!" She always began with his name. That was his only clue, his only clue to when her whips would once again strike. But even though she said it with such contempt, he loved the way that she said his name. It sounded like music whenever it came from her lips. The feeling that he got from her whips was bittersweet.

He looked up at her. "Yes, Reyna?" The look on her face was pure annoyance. It made him want to cry. She was so stunning, so gorgeous; nothing in the world could ever compare. He didn't deserve to have someone that beautiful by his side.

She looked down at him, shrinking him under her gaze. "You said that the gears in the towers would be fixed by yesterday."

His head hung in shame; he had disappointed her. Now the little amount of trust that she had in him could take forever to get back. What if she never trusted him ever again? He didn't think that he would be able to bear it.

"Gods, Leo. Sometimes I wonder what to do with someone who is just so useless!" She rose from her seat and began pacing back and forth, her silky black hair trailing behind her. "Why haven't you been able to fix anything lately?"

He felt himself get angry—angrier than he had been in a long time. His fists clenched and unclenched and then to his horror, he realized that if he didn't get his anger in check _soon_, everything would be ruined and she would hate him forever. She would never love him.

Ever.

He quickly searched his brain, desperately wanting to find something to distract himself from the burning, white-hot anger that was threatening to explode from his chest. He had no desire to be upset with her; he loved her so much. But some things, it seems, are inevitable.

To this day, he doesn't know how it happened.

It was as if his willpower and patience for the girl that he loved had finally run out. The sting of the pain and the heat of his anger motivated him to say things that he would never say to her if he wasn't angry.

"Stop!" he snarled. The harshness of his voice surprised even him, but that didn't slow him down. There was no way that he was going to be silenced—not this time and not ever again.

After her initial shock, she glared at him. "Give me one good reason."

The heat in his chest grew. "You can't call me useless, stupid, lazy, and a hazard and not expect me to finally say something. You've been tormenting me and breaking me down. I work so hard and still, all I get is an insult. I can't believe you!" His jaw hardened, him being so filled with anger.

She stepped back, as if his words were like the whips she used on him. "I never—you never—Why didn't you say something sooner?"

He threw his hands up in exasperation, not noticing the small flames that danced along his forearms. "I didn't say anything because…" he trailed off.

"Because…what?" How dare she try to look innocent? She looked at him with her big dark chocolate eyes and acted as if nothing was wrong. That was a lie. She was a lie.

"Because…I love you, gods damn it! I've loved you for so long, but you always turned me away, pushing me further and further until I've become nothing but a liability," he said bitterly.

The look on her face was incredulous. "That doesn't make any sense; I—I—"

He stopped her with a wave of his hand, refusing to listen to her voice anymore. If she continued to speak to him, he might come back to her and get his heart broken again. That couldn't happen. He couldn't let himself get torn apart again by her hand, no matter how entrancing she was.

So he wordlessly turned on his heel and walked out.

_What have I done? _They both wondered. _What have I done?_

But neither of them could bring themselves to swallow their pride and say, "I'm sorry."

* * *

**Okay, so I know that you know that I'm currently working on Kiss of Death (more Lyco {Is that too weird of a couple name for them? Review and tell me what you think.} drama is on the way) but do you guys want me to continue with this or just leave it as a one-shot? 'Cause if I do continue it as a story, I might change its name. Please, please, **_**please **_**review and tell me what you think. I really want to know what you guys think. **

**And for those that haven't read my other **_**Percy Jackson **_**story, it's called Kiss of Death and you should totally check it out. I actually like that story a lot better. *sheepish look* Oh, well.**

**Goodnight, guys! (It's almost 11:30)**

**- Daughter-of-Apollo-213 or Onalenna**


	2. Ch 2: Demigod Consultation—Reyna Style

I'm Sorry

_A Sad Leyna Story (With a Happy Ending)_

Chapter One: Demigod Consultation

**Okay, so even though I only got two reviews ( thanks ArtemisApollo97 & applesngrapes), two favorites (thanks both ArtemisApollo97 & applesngrapes again, & percabeth fan forever), and three follows (I give my thanks to, once again, ArtemisApollo97 & applesngrapes & to Sobekton), I've decided to continue the story. I've also decided to keep the title the same so no one gets confused.**

_**Review**_

**What have I done?**_** They both wondered. **_**What have I done?**

_**But neither of them could bring themselves to swallow their pride and say, "I'm sorry."**_

**ArtemisApollo97 - **oh, no! Poor Leo! Leo, come back! I'll be nice! (Sorry, I'm Team Leo :P )  
As much as I sort of dislike you for upsetting Leo, this is amazing and I love the idea of it! Are you going to continue? :) **– Well, I guess you have your answer. **** I feel like their story can't end there, you know? And I know, I know; Leo and Reyna are meant to be together. (I'm so Team Leo; if he was a real person I think that I would go crazy.) Don't worry; daughters of Apollo such as I always have a plan. **** Thanks for the kind words!**

**applesngrapes - **I think you should continue it. This is a really good story and I think it would be really awesome if you finished it. **– I am most definitely going to continue it! Thanks for saying such nice things; they really help me a lot, especially when it comes to writing. And if you like this story, you might like my other one. It's called Kiss of Death. You should check it out.**

* * *

I paced back and forth nervously, unsure of what my next move would be, unsure as to how I would handle this…not so perfect situation. But then again, I never really knew what to do when it came to the curly-haired son of Vulcan—sorry, _Hephaestus. _He was so chaotic and wild; I was so controlled and orderly. I always loose my sense of clarity whenever I have to do something that involves him. It drives me absolutely crazy. When I am in control of everything else around me, it makes me feel like I at least have some sort of rein on my hurricane of feelings.

Leo always made it harder for me to focus. He was charismatic, yet extremely awkward. He always made me want to laugh and scream at the same time. He was as confident as I was, yet as completely lost as I was.

He was perfect, but at the same time, he was completely not what I needed at the time.

I needed someone to help keep me focused, not someone who can always seem to make me forget everything with a smile or even a wink. And besides—it's not like I wanted to be in a relationship at the time. It's not like I hadn't seen what love could do to people. Take Percy, for instance. He was too loyal, especially when it came to Annabeth. He never made a big decision without consulting her first. I never wanted to be like that; I wanted to be able to make my own choices without having to worry about what another person would think.

I'd obviously seen what it does to people like Jason—people who are strong, yet completely able to give themselves up to someone else. It seemed like ever since he and Piper were together, he lost sight of his (or what _should _be his) main priorities.

Getting close to a person, trusting someone, falling in love with someone—those things were all distractions. I knew what Percy, Annabeth, and Jason were like, but people like me couldn't afford to have any distractions. People like me couldn't afford to take down their armor and let someone in. I was (and still am) a strong praetor, and if I let my guard down, I knew in my heart that I might pay dearly.

But, alas I would never let that happen, no matter how desperately I wanted to let someone in. My camp was more important than the wants of my heart. At that point in my life, all that mattered was Camp Jupiter, and everything else, like my personal life, didn't matter.

And even though it didn't exactly seem like it, I wanted nothing more to have given into Leo. But no matter how much I desired to do just that, I forced myself to get a grip on my whirlwind of emotions. No one really understands that _had _to push him away. I couldn't let myself melt into those warm brown eyes or think about how soft that curly hair would feel under my fingers. I couldn't think about the curve of those lips that spouted terrible, yet amusing jokes or about how it would feel to have those arms wrapped around me.

Thoughts like those were lethal. Trust and love could kill just as quickly as a knife.

But even after my internal debate, I still had no clue as to what to do. So, of course, I did the only thing that I _could_ do.

* * *

"What did you do now?"

Piper, Annabeth, Hazel, and surprisingly, Thalia, Jason's sister were all sitting in my living room. They were arranged in a loose circle, waiting for me to come back with our hot chocolate. Even though I had invited them myself, I wasn't exactly sure that they would actually show up, given the fact that Camp Half-Blood was completely on the other side of the country. But it was most definitely worth the shot.

"That is a great question, isn't it, Piper?" Annabeth asked, raising her eyebrows at me. "We're all _dying _to know what sort of mysterious thing happened between the daughter of Bellona and the son of Hephaestus."

For some unknown reason, I stumbled at Annabeth's dramatic question, nearly spilling one of the three cups of hot chocolate that I was carrying. "No need to be all dramatic about it Annabeth; only daughters of Aphrodite such as Piper would act like that."

"First of all, we all know that I am _not _a typical daughter of Aphrodite; I'm so much more practical," she called after me; I had left to get mine and Thalia's hot chocolate. "Second of all, don't try to change the subject. Besides, there's no other reason for you to call all four of us to Camp Jupiter other than to talk about your Leo situation." She then looked at the other girls for confirmation.

The daughter of Zeus sighed, looking at her nails. "Pretty much." Then, after rolling her eyes and sipping her drink, she looked me dead in the eyes. "Look; we all (that includes you) know that you're hopelessly in love with the idiot, so why don't you get it over with and confess your undying love for each other?" Hazel nodded in agreement over the rim over her cup.

My throat threatened to close. "He already did."

Annabeth choked on her warm drink, nearly spilling it on my beautiful carpet. "_What_?" Her eyes seemed to be popping out of her head, they were so wide. "Who, when, where, and why? Give me details, woman!"

We all looked at her strangely. It wasn't everyday that Annabeth spoke like a man. "Whoa," she said, shaking her head. "I have been watching way too much TV."

Thalia chuckled, and then turned to Reyna. "So…what's this that I'm hearing about Leo confessing his undying love then you making out passionately?"

Now _my _eyes were about the size of grapefruit. I didn't think that I had said anything about making out with Leo. "Um, I didn't say _anything _about making out with Leo, or anything of the sort. But," I sighed, "I'll give you the rest of the details."

They all leaned forward slightly, not wanting to miss a single word. "What happened is that Leo told me that he…loves me," I said slowly, staggering over the word _love_. "Who was involved? It was just me and Leo. When it happened was two days ago, which was a…Thursday. It was right before lunch, and we were talking about how the gears in the towers that we use for war games needed to be fixed. He fixed them yesterday, actually. But that's not the point."

Before continuing, I forced myself to take a deep breath so that I didn't mess up this next part. I really didn't want to say anything stupid. It was the most important part; none of the other stuff was that vital to the story, but I was saying the rest of that stuff to waste time. I wanted to arrange all of her thoughts in her head so she didn't wind up saying something dense instead. "The place where we were at was actually in the _via principia. _I was sitting on my seat and we were talking…"

"Go on…" Hazel said, staring me down with her golden eyes. She can actually be pretty intimidating when she wants to be. "What's the why?"

Thalia snickered, but was still listening attentively to the lady praetor.

I inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, mentally preparing myself for their shock. "Are you guys sure that you want to know why he said that he loves me? Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes!" they cried exasperatedly.

"The only reason that he said that…he only said it because…he was mad at me for something that I said. He was really mad, like his arms were on fire and he didn't even make a move to put them out." I wrung my hands in shame.

"Well…what exactly did you say? Details, details!" Thalia demanded.

I flinched. "That bad?" Hazel asked, though not unkindly.

"Yeah. It was pretty bad. I—I called him useless. I know that's really horrible of me, but what I don't understand is—"

"You know what _I _don't understand?" Piper asked, effectively cutting me off in the middle of my sentence _and _causing me to cringe. "What I don't understand is that you go on and on about how much you care about Leo and how strong you think he is, but you're always crushing is spirit! He comes to me all the time, saying that you hate him, and I have absolutely no idea what to do, because you tell me not to say anything, but I want to make him feel so much better. You're destroying him, Reyna; why can't you see that?"

"Don't you think I already know that?" I half screamed, half sobbed. "Don't you think that I can see in his eyes how I'm hurting him? Gods, I'm such an awful person," I finally whispered, sinking to the ground.

The four other female demigods in the room eyed each other. This was not going well; I obviously didn't cry. It was unnatural. A silent argument traveled through their eyes. _Who was going to comfort her? They_ obviously didn't know that I could still see them from my spot on the floor.

In the end, it was Hazel that decided to be the Good Samaritan. She knelt next to the broken girl that was lying on the ground (that girl would be _moi)_, wrapping an arm around me. "Hey, Reyna. You're not an awful person; it's just that you're young right now, so you're not going to make the best choices, especially when it comes to the subject of love. Even old people have trouble with the people that they love. It's even harder for demigods, due to the whole child-of-a-god situation. So you can't expect yourself to be perfect; you can't expect Leo to be perfect, either. I suggest that you try to apologize to Leo, because you never know what could happen. It sounds like Leo won't be able to stay mad at you for too long, though; he cares about you too much." The daughter of Pluto smiled warmly, making me feel like I was speaking to my grandmother instead of a fifteen-year-old girl.

"Thanks, Hazel. But what I don't understand is that I've called him so many different things—some of them worse than useless. I've called him a hazard and a liability, yet he didn't say anything. I wonder what was different this time." My eyes widened in realization. "It seemed like he never wanted to be angry with me—almost like he was mad, but at the same time, he wanted so badly to believe that it wasn't me saying those things to him or about him."

"That could be it," Annabeth said, contemplating her response. "That would take some serious willpower and some serious love."

"I know." I paused. "And if you guys ever—I mean ever—tell anyone besides our friends that I cried, I will hunt you down and I will kill you all; I have a reputation to maintain."

Thalia snorted. "You can't kill me!" She jumped onto my poor couch, successfully leaving boot prints on her blue couch. "I'm immortal; ha ha!"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Thalia, you're even though you're still immortal you can still die; gods."

They watched her strangely. "Yeah…that sounded a lot better in my head than it did out loud…but it still sort of made sense, right?"

"Whatever, Annabeth," Hazel teased. "At least Percy's still not here; he'd be making fun of you for hours."

"Ugh…don't remind me, "she groaned, but I could still see a hint of a smile on her face. Seriously, that girl was _way_too in love.

Piper grinned like the Cheshire Cat.

Thalia's stomach growled. "Whoa. It sounds like Maxine is a bit hungry; I should probably eat something from Reyna's fridge, shouldn't I?" She looked up at me questioningly. "You wouldn't want to leave Maxine like this, would you, Reyna? She can get very aggressive when she needs to eat something."

"Well then," Hazel said, "I guess Maxine's in luck; it's just about time for dinner."

"Yes!"

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever, Thalia; you're insane." I started to get up from the floor. "And guys don't forget to put your cups in the dishwasher before you leave; I _really_ don't feel like doing the dishes tonight."

As I started to make my way out of the living room, I noticed that they weren't following me, which was pretty odd. Here I was, thinking that Thalia was hungry. Maybe she had changed her mind and actually decided to raid my fridge.

If she had touched my macaroons I was going to kill her.

I jogged back into the living room giving my weird, yet lovable friends a confused look. "I thought "Maxine" was hungry; did she change her mind and decide to raid my fridge?"

No one laughed. "Huh. That wasn't exactly the reaction that I was hoping for." They still looked at me solemnly, as if someone had died. "Okay; will somebody _please _tell me what's going on? Now, please?"

They all looked at each other, trying to decide who would break the news to me. I wondered how bad it was if they were afraid that I was going to be upset, or something.

In the end, Piper sighed in defeat. "Okay Reyna. You realize that if we go and eat with the rest of the campers, all of the campers will be there? And I mean _all _of the campers." She paused. "Including Leo."

I literally think that I stopped breathing in that moment. I had no idea what to say.

So I said the only thing that I _could_ say.

"Oh. My. Gods."

* * *

**Sooo….you like? I liked it—very much, in fact. **

**I'm excited and kind of freaked out for this next chapter, but that's only 'cause I know what's going to happen in this next chapter. I know how Leo's gonna react to seeing Reyna. But, _you_ guys don't. ;) **

**What do _you _guys think is gonna happen in the next chapter? How do _you_ think Leo's gonna react to seeing Reyna for the first time since the fight?**

**Review your thoughts. Make sure to tell me if I have any spelling or grammatical errors. And if you have ANY ideas for me, I just might use them in future chapters. And I'll be sure to give you a big shout-out. ****J**** Tell everyone that you know about this story if you can; that would make me happier than a gazelle with night-vision goggles. (from the Geico commercial, hehe) **

**Deuces!**

**- Daughter-of-Apollo213**


	3. Demigod Consultation—Leo Valdez Style

I'm Sorry

_A Sad Leyna Story (With a Happy Ending)_

Chapter Two: Demigod Consultation: Leo "Flamer" Valdez Style

**First of all, I would just like to thank you all so much for the kind words and the nice reviews. I literally almost cried when I read them; it feels so great to have such support. I appreciate you so much and thanks to those who are following me and/or favorite me!**

**Now, don't get upset. I postponed the Leo/Reyna meeting until the next chapter; I'd really rather do it this way. By doing it like this, I can explain how Leo is doing and exactly who he calls in for help. ;) And just so you know, the events in this chapter are happening at the same time as the events in the last chapter.**

**Review of Chapter One**

In the end, Piper sighed in defeat. "Okay Reyna. You realize that if we go and eat with the rest of the campers, all of the campers will be there? And I mean _all _of the campers," she paused, "—including Leo."

I literally think that I stopped breathing in that moment. I had no idea what to say.

So I said the only thing that I _could_ say.

"Oh. My. _Gods_."

**I, sadly, don't own the **_**Percy Jackson and the Olympians **_**franchise.**

* * *

For those of you that have not been formerly introduced to me, my name is Oel Zedlav. I am the identical twin of Leo Valdez, his most accurate copy. The only difference between us is that I act like a little child in front of the young lady that I fancy. I lose my temper and ignore all the things that Leo tells me _not _to do.

It was a pleasure to meet you.

I was sitting in a secluded corner of my favorite restaurant in New Rome—Caesar's Café. What's the point of wallowing in your self-pity if you don't have some yummy crème bruleé **(A/N: I apologize if I spelled that wrong!****) ** to go along with it?

I honestly could not believe that I did that. It was so stupid of me to lose my temper like some little demon child that didn't get what they wanted on Christmas morning. I don't normally lose my temper, either. After that, I could probably kiss any slim chance with Reyna goodbye. (Although, I'd much rather kiss _her_, but that's beside the point.) She probably wouldn't ever talk to me again after that; and it wasn't as if we were best buddies before I went off the deep end. With that optimistic thought, I dropped my head into my hands, feeling terrible.

I know that I've done some not so smart things in the past (and present), but this was pretty close to the top of the list. I had messed up bad, and this was one situation that I had no idea how to fix.

It wasn't as if my nonexistent love-life was a machine that I could repair with some pliers or a sledgehammer. As a wise man once said, "Love is like a fire; it can fill you with warmth, but it can also consume you and burn you right up."

Just so you know that "wise man"—that was Percy. (Shocking, isn't it?) It was after my sixteenth birthday, and I was with the rest of the guys down by the fountain in the city—I love that fountain. I was upset because I had no way to tell if Reyna liked me. This was _also_ after I had realized just how _much _I really like Reyna, which, believe me, is a pretty big deal in itself. Birthdays are pretty monumental for demigods.

_FLASHBACK_

"_Okay, okay, guys, that's enough; no matter how weird it is that Leo "Flamer" Valdez likes Miss "Ice Queen" Reyna, we all need to be good friends and support his decision, no matter how insane it is. That's what a good friend would do, right?"_

_Nico's sarcastic words work for about thirty seconds. This is about the time that everybody—Frank, Percy, Jason—else start to bust out laughing. I take notice on how that group of people did not include me. It is completely by coincidence that I don't laugh, though. (Sarcasm: because beating the sh*t out of people isn't necessarily right.) _

"_Ha, ha, ha—it's not that funny, you guys. I mean really, why is it so hard to believe that I like Reyna?" I am getting pretty irritated. I mean, really isn't uncommon for me to fall head over heels for some random girl, but _this_…this is different. I can feel it every time I look at her and she isn't paying attention. Is that too weird? Do I sound absolutely out of my mind?_

_Nico sighs loudly through his nose. "It's just really weird. I mean, your dad is the god of fire and such. And despite the fact that Reyna isn't a daughter of Khione, she can be pretty cold sometimes. Does that make any sense?"_

_Of course it makes sense; but that doesn't mean that that fact makes me any happier._

"_So, what—why should it matter who our parents are? After all," I look at Percy, "you're dating the daughter of your father's enemy."_

_He frowns deeply. "That's different; your situation has nothing to do with your parents and everything to do with your personalities. Reyna's the exact opposite of you, Leo—calm, cold, serious, and kind of uptight. You're one of my friends, and I just don't want to see you get hurt."_

"_But you don't get it," I protest. "She's just what I need. She can balance me out, counter my frenzied actions. She's smart, funny in her own special way, and not to mention extremely beautiful." I must be sounding pretty crazy, because they all look at me funny. "What? She _is _really pretty—more beautiful than Aphrodite herself," I say wistfully, ignoring the sound of distant thunder. Hey; the truth hurts, but lies hurt even more._

_Jason stares at me like a little kid. "It's official; Leo Valdez is indeed on crack." I frown at him. "Don't get all frown-y with me, Mr. I'm-in-Love-with-Reyna_; _it's just that you are really out of your mind—completely delusional. It's common knowledge that Piper is better looking than Reyna."_

_Frank and Nico roll their eyes. "Don't you start," Frank says. "You don't see me obsessing about Hazel all the time. I already know how amazing she is; why should I waste time telling everyone when they should already know, too?"_

"_Oh, please," Nico scoffs. "Don't even _try _to pretend that you don't have a collage of pictures of you and Hazel hanging beside your bunk; that would just be sad."_

_Despite my mood, Nico's comment makes me smile. _

_Percy looks right at him like, _Really? You want to play that game? _"Don't even _try _to pretend that you didn't think that my girlfriend is hot." After Frank and Jason throw their heads back in laughter and Nico's face turns the color of roses, he turns back to me. "Look," he says carefully. "I know that you care a lot about Reyna, but just be careful._ _Love is like a fire; it can fill you with warmth, but it can also burn you right up at the same time if you're not careful."_

_I am about to say some witty comment, like, "I can't burn; I'm Flamer!" but I know that he's being serious. Instead I say. "Thanks, Perce; it means a lot that you care so much."_

_He smiles, showing off his white teeth. "No problem." Then he rubs his hands together and says, "Can we go into someplace to eat? I'm starving."_

_FLASHBACK OVER_

I lifted my head from its place in my hands. I didn't know if this was a good idea or not, but I decided to try it. After all, you never know until you try. But then again, sometimes trying something new can be a bit…crazy.

* * *

"Remind me, exactly, of why we are here; I would like to know why I am wasting a perfectly good nap day," Percy said grumpily. "You know how much I love taking my naps—especially since last night was the first night of my summer at camp. I'm bone tired."

Jason rolled his eyes. "Don't mind him, Leo. But, to be fair, we did wake him up a bit earlier than normal when Nico and I went and got him from Camp Half-Blood."

"Not to be rude or anything, but Percy's right; why are we here?" Frank asked. "And why, exactly, did you pick a restaurant for our meeting place?"

Nico nodded in agreement. "I'm not really one for hanging out in a place that a lot of people can look at me, but I like the fact that I can eat _and _cringe while I am under the scrutinizing gaze of others. This way, I can ignore the parents practically dragging their kids out of the restaurant—the ones that don't want me to contaminate their precious little bratty demon children—while enjoying a,"—he glanced at the menu—"nice chicken sandwich."

Percy scoffed at that. "I don't really mean to crash your little pity party, Nico, but you would have been noticed anyway; look at who you're sitting with—the _Percy Jackson, the _Percy Jackson, the Percy _Jackson—"_

"We get it!" I cried exasperatedly. "We're sitting with the famous Percy Jackson! You're standing in the hall of fame! You went from "zero" to "hero" just like that! You are the champion! You're amazing—whoop-de-do!" I made a circling motion in the air with my index finger. I figured it was a subtle way to show that I was pretty annoyed. (Sarcasm)

"Dude," he mumbled back. "Who peed in your Cheerios?"

No matter how much I didn't want to laugh at that moment, it seemed that my mouth had a mind of its own. A snort of a laugh burst from my lips without my permission, and I knew that it was too late; as soon as I start laughing, it becomes pretty difficult for me to stop. I think that I have a serious condition, I kid you not.

So that's why I was still laughing a few minutes later along with the rest of my weird friends.

"Okay," I said, gasping for air. "Okay. Whew."

They stared at me. "But that doesn't mean that I'm not pissed at you idiots anymore." I glared at them as hard as I could, hoping that there were flames around my eyes or in my eyes. (It was this thing that I was working on because I had once heard the expression about flames in people's eyes.) "I still need to talk to you about something important, so sit down and shut up!" I was starting to like Drill Sergeant Leo; it's _much _better than Oel Zedlav.

Frank raised his hand slowly, as if he wasn't sure if I would yell at him. I had to resist the urge to call him a soldier. "Um, I don't mean to be rude, but aren't we already sitting down?"

"Are you serious?" I asked, giving him a dead look. "Are you really going to do that now?"

"Sorry."

I shook my head slightly. "Anyway—I wanted you guys to come as soon as you could because I need your help. And I need it desperately. It has to do with Reyna."

Jason sighed. "C'mon, man—how much of this are you going to put up with? How can you stand all the things that she says to you? I just don't understand."

They still didn't get just how much Reyna meant to me. They didn't get how much it meant whenever she talked to me, regardless of what she was saying. "Of course you wouldn't understand; you'd have to put yourself and Piper in my situation and think about it. After you've thought about it long and hard, _then—_and only then—you can say that you understand. It doesn't really matter what she's saying to me, as long as she's talking to me." I paused, ignoring the looks they were giving me. "But, I seriously doubt she'll want to talk to me after what happened a couple days ago." Even though I'm ADHD and I barely remember things that I should, I remember that day perfectly.

I can still hear the sound of campers in the training arena, their swords clanging against each other. I still remember how amazing Reyna looked: perfect, golden skin, hair swept back into a loose braid, and eyes as cold as Hades' backside. She was still beautiful, still breathtakingly beautiful. I can still feel the same excitement that I felt when Octavian said that Reyna wanted to talk to me.

I'm such a sap.

My best friends all stared back at me. "What?" I said. "Why are you all staring at me? I mean, I know I'm gorgeous and all, but I have a time limit for how long the viewings can be—any longer than five minutes and there will be a fee of five bucks per five extra minutes. Just keep that in mind."

Frank deadpanned, "Ha, ha, that's so funny, Leo."

"Then tell me why you were all staring at me like that! I was creepy," I huffed.

Percy rolled his eyes. "We want to know what you were talking about—that thing that you said happened, what, two days ago? You never did tell us, you know."

"Oh, that!" I said back, snapping my fingers. I paused then, not really sure if I should tell them what I said to Reyna. I mean, I trust them with my life, but those guys can be a bit overwhelming. "Well…Octavian came up to me —right after my shower, I might add. But I guess it was a good thing that I get dry pretty easily, because that would have been _totally _embarrassing if I was still wet in front of Reyna. I mean, what if my clothes had gotten soaked through and—"

"Focus, Leo!" Jason snapped his fingers in my face. "Gods, you sound like some of the girls in Cabin 10; please stop."

Percy, Nico, and Frank snickered. "It would be such a shame if you embarrassed yourself in front of Reyna. You should probably fix your hair so it impresses her, and while you're at that, you should probably get a mani/pedi; your cuticles are looking a bit gnarly," Percy teased.

"Do you want me to finish my story or not?"

That shut 'em right up.

"As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted,"—I stared pointedly at Jason—"Octavian told me that Reyna wanted to talk to me. Man, he was in quite the piss-_y_ mood—more so than usual. So after our little chat, I headed up to the _principia _to talk to her; I was stoked."

"Stoked?" asked Frank.

"Yes, stoked," I said right back at him, choosing to ignore the oncoming eye roll. "When I got there, it seemed that the teddy-bear murderer's mood was like, contagious, or something because as soon as I walked in there, I knew she was mad about something—like, _really _pissed.

Jason raised a blonde eyebrow. "How did you know she was mad?"

I shrugged. "It was as if I could feel her aura. She was either PMS-ing about something stupid, or she was actually mad about something. As it turns out, she was mad at me for not fixing the gears in the war games towers—which by the way, I finished them yesterday, so don't lecture me about the hazards of being lazy. But that's not the point."

"Then what _is _the point, exactly?" Nico asked lazily, uncapping the salt shaker on the table.

My eyes narrowed at him slightly. "The point is that I told Reyna that I love her," I said lightly. I could feel their surprise, but I wasn't going to say a single word until they asked me to talk to them. I figured that I had about two minutes before they could get over their shock and start talking, so I took the chance and ordered a donut. (Just in case you were wondering, it was an apple fritter—those are some yummy beasts.)

After I paid the waitress and was about ¼ of the way through my donut, Jason was the first to speak. "What just happened?"

"I don't know, man," Percy responded, all of them still staring at me. "I don't know anything anymore. I mean, this defies the very laws of the universe."

Frank snapped out of it, too, whatever _it _was. "You're kidding, right? Please tell me that this is all some elaborate prank involving us thinking that you told Reyna that you love her. Don't tell me that you're actually telling the truth."

I shrugged indifferently. "Okay, then—I won't tell you that I'm telling the truth and that I did, in fact, tell Reyna that I love her. I won't tell you that at all."

"No, Leo!" Percy cried exasperatedly. "That's not what was supposed to happen! _Stick to the plan, remember?_"

Nico stared at Percy as if he'd just suggested that they should go ride in an airplane. "Are you trying to mess with me right now? You are like, the king of don't-stick-to-the-plan. Since when have you actually been following a plan? This is so unlike you, Percy; I just don't know that to say."

"Whatever, Nico."

Then Percy looked back at me. "Seriously, Leo—why did you do that? I thought you weren't going to tell her—like ever. What happened?"

I started to fidget in my chair. If you're calling me a wimp, I want _you _to try and sit under the stares of four of the most powerful demigods ever. If you can make it, then you have the right to call me a wimp. "You're right; I actually _didn't _mean to tell Reyna that I love her. It just sort of…came out, I guess." I shrugged. "I really didn't mean to say anything about that. I swear on my granddad's grave, wherever it may be."

Nico rolled his eyes. "So if you didn't mean to tell the Ice Queen that you're hopelessly and disgustingly in love with her Royal Ice-ness, what caused it the words to come out?"

"Well…" I said, wringing the bottom of my shirt in my hands, "it started with a bit on an argument about me not finishing the gears. It started out pretty normal, actually. There was no sign that something was going to happen. It even took me a few seconds to figure out what I said after I said it, even. She called me one of the usual names—it was useless, in case you were wondering—and that's when it happened." I couldn't even say it then. I was so angry with myself, so angry with the fact that I had made the girl that I love so angry.

I gripped the edge of the table, not noticing that my hands were burning my handprints into the wood. It was later when Frank saw and told me about it.

"Dude, are you okay?" I heard Jason ask. I ignored him, fearing that if I even so much as looked up, I would start crying like some little kid.

"I can't believe I did that," I whispered. I was barely able to speak. "I can't _believe _that I lost control; I don't _do _that." I looked up at them, finally.

"What do you mean?" Frank asked. "What happened?"

I tried hard to swallow the lump in my throat that seemed to be growing larger and larger by the milliseconds. "I—I got mad. I lost my temper. I let my anger get the best of me. I lost all of my control. It was as if I wasn't even myself anymore."

"Kind of like when _eidolons_ possessed you at Camp Jupiter?" Percy asked, with his voice filled with sympathy.

"Yeah; it was sort of like that." I sighed, absolutely filled with self-loathing. Why did I always seem to mess everything up? Percy, Nico, and even _Frank _barely ever seemed to make a mistake. Zeus knows that all the girls that I know are as graceful as gazelles. I would pay big money to see Annabeth make a mistake—instant blackmail.

What is it about _myself _that causes me to screw everything up? What did I do? Why is it me? I would like to have that question answered, if possible. I just want to know what's wrong with me as a body.

"It was as if I was just so angry that I could no longer do anything about it. I couldn't find any lame jokes to distract myself with, and that scared me; I always have at least two stupid jokes handy—three for Reyna, sometimes four, given the circumstance." I put my head in my hands, not even bothering to swat Jason's hand away as he reached for my apple fritter—and I freaking _love _apple fritters. "I just don't know what to do anymore, guys; I love her so _much _but I can't do this anymore. I can't handle getting my heart broken and re-broken every time I want to talk to her."

"In your defense, Leo," Nico said, "I don't think that you knew what to do even in the beginning."

I glared at him, wishing so _badly _that flames could come out of my eyes. "Can you not be a douche bag right now? That would be amazing, thanks."

"Sorry, man," he said seriously. "I really don't know what to say. I wish that I could give you tons and tons of advice, but I'm not sure that I'll be that much of help."

I sighed. "It's alright; I mean, it's not like you were the one that screwed up my nonexistent love life. It was all Oel Zedlav's fault."

"Who?" Jason asked.

"Never mind; that's not important right now." I patted my stomach, which was growling like Poppa Bear. "But what it _is _important is that I get some food into my stomach. I'm so hungry."

Frank rose his eyebrows at me. "But you just ate an apple fritter the size of Texas."

"Your point?"

"Okay, then," he said. "I guess that means we're going to dinner then. I hope you're ready, Leo. Things are about to get either extremely awkward, or extremely intense." He patted my back as I took care of the bill and the tip.

Percy looked at me. "You don't get it, do you, Flame Boy?"

I shook my head.

"Reyna is going to be at dinner. And you're going to be at dinner. That basically means that this is going to be one hell of a ride."

I stopped dead in my tracks. Percy was right, Frank was right. How was I going to do this?

Only one thought ran through my head.

_May the gods be with us all._

* * *

**It's official; I am a despicable human being. I haven't updated in so long. I'm such a jerk. But to sort of make up for it, I made this chapter a bit longer than the other ones. I hope you liked it. Please review!**

**-Daugher-of-Apollo-213**


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